If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Best athlon 64 heatsink?

What do you think the best athlon 64 heatsink that is out right now is best? I would perfer it to have an 80mm fan on it but it dosent have to be I have a fan controller so noise is really not an issue.

The cooling requirements for an 104W FX-55 are slightly different from those of a 2.0 GHz one. Also the answer is very different if you want to overclock, compared to someone just wanting silence.

Also, having a fan controller isn't always the answer. Going under a certain speed, which is what a fan controller allows you to, might not cool well enough any more.

That said, as I've posted several times before, personally I'm using a ThermalTake K8 SilentBoost on my 2.0 GHz 3200+ (1 MB cache), with the fan replaced with a 12 dBA Past fan. All copper, lots of fins (hence lots of surface), and seems to do surprisingly well with a slow silent 80mm fan.

But then I fit in the niche which values silence over overclocking potential. Whether that's what you seek too, that's another question.

Downside, you do have to swap the fan on it to get any silence. The numbers for the default fan on it were obviously pulled out of the *** by a marketroid, rather than measured. It's nowhere near 21 dBA, but _at_ _least_ 30 dBA, probably more, and the airflow is probably nowhere near the one they claim either.

I think I mighght go with the pipe 101. Originally I was just going to buy a retail 3500+ but they are not in stock at new egg and the oem ones are so I am just going to buy an oem one since down the road I would probably have upgraded the heat sink anyway. Do you think that this is a wise decision or do you think I should just buy a retail one and wait for them to get in stock?

The PIPE 101 was also one I was considering. Personally I'm not that convinced that most heatpipes on heatsinks actually do anything other than add weight and look fashionably high-tech, but with that surface of pure copper it shouldn't matter anyway. Ought to be a good heatsink, once you put a good silent fan on it.

The ThermalRight XP-90 is a great one that is not too heavy and can use a 92mm fan. Even a very low RPM fan will alow overclocking of that 90nm Athlon64 3500+. I have heard even the retail heatsink does OK on these when not overclocking and the Cool-n-Quite does quiet down the retail heatsink quite a bit at idle.

Get the address for the image, usually by right clicking on the image and going to propperties and highlighting the address then press CTRL C (to copy it). Then in a message type img surounded by these [], then paste the address of the picture and add /img again surrounded by these brackets [].

Originally posted by Mikie 2nd for the XP-90. I have it on a [email protected] and with the BIOS cool'n'quiet It stays at 40c and no fan.

It is a few degrees hotter than the XP-120, but quite a bit smaller. My first vote would be 120, then the 90.

Because if the XP-90 works this good, I would imagine the XP-120, is amazing and could cool lower still without a fan.

That is impressive. What speed and voltage does it clock down to normall? So when you load a game of something it turns the fan on right away or after it heats up a bit. Does it also vary the spped of the fan or is it just on/off? With all the reveiws of Athlon64 systems out there I have heard nothing more about Cool-n-Quiet other that than that it is a features and in theory what it is for. Noby ever syas how it actually works, like RPM ranges, temp triggers, speeds, voltages... Turning off the CPU fan and still running only 40'C is mighty, even with that monster cooler.

Todd, I've read that C&Q has only three steps. Likely find info on it at SPCR or Anandtech Forums. One of the articles or posts at SPCR had a link to a lengthy Anandtech post about mobile A64 motherboard campatibility.